India at UN says world needs to hold terror masterminds accountable

India at UN says world needs to hold terror masterminds accountable

United Nations: The world needs to hold masterminds of terrorist plots accountable for their deeds and “call their bluff ” and it is equally important that they are not allowed to mislead the international community by painting themselves as “victims of terrorism”, India has said at the UN, in a veiled reference to Pakistan.

The world has witnessed the horrors of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, the 2016 Pathankot terror attack and the 2019 Pulwama terrorist attack, Counsellor in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Rajesh Parihar said on Monday.

“We all know from where the perpetrators of these attacks came from, he said, delivering India’s national statement at the open briefing on the work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) with the Member States of South and South-East Asia.

“It is equally important to call out the masterminds behind these terrorist plots and not let them mislead the international community by painting themselves as victims of terrorism,” he said. We need to call their bluff and hold them accountable for their deeds,” Parihar said.

It is regrettable that the victims of these dastardly attacks are yet to get justice, and the perpetrators, facilitators and financiers of these attacks continue to walk free, still enjoying state support and hospitality, he said, making a reference to Pakistan.

Parihar, voicing regret that the present reporting mechanism of the UN on terrorist threats does not treat inputs on the issue by all member states on equal footing and continues to be plagued by political biases , said that close attention must be paid to threats emerging from Pakistan-based Lashkare-Taiba (LeT) and Jaishe-Mohammed (JeM).

We hope that Counter Terrorism Committee, its Executive Directorate - CTED, and the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team will pay close attention to the terrorist threat emerging from al-Qaida, particularly, their affiliates, LeT and JeM as well as the atrocities of terrorist groups against religious minorities. —PTI